1997 Winston 500

Last updated
1997 Winston 500
Race details [1]
Race 10 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1997 Winston 500.jpeg
The 1997 Winston 500 program cover, featuring Darrell Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, and Jeff Gordon.
Date May 10, 1997 (1997-May-10)
Official name Winston 500
Location Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.660 mi (4.280 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km)
Weather Temperatures of 71.6 °F (22.0 °C); wind speeds of 6.3 miles per hour (10.1 km/h)
Average speed 188.354 miles per hour (303.126 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
 Cale Yarborough Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 76
Winner
No. 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins
Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett

The 1997 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on May 10, 1997, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Heavy rain and prior NASCAR commitments forced this race to be rescheduled from April 27, 1997. [2]

Contents

This race would be last time that the number 20 would be used on a Winston Cup Series vehicle until Tony Stewart came along and revived the number as a part of Joe Gibbs Racing. Stewart was asked to drive the vehicle just prior to qualifying but had to turn it down due to prior commitments.

Background

The layout of Talladega Superspeedway, the venue where the race was held. Talladega Superspeedway.svg
The layout of Talladega Superspeedway, the venue where the race was held.

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators. [3]

Race report

There were 43 American-born drivers in this race. Those who failed to qualify were: Billy Standridge, Mike Wallace, Gary Bradberry, Joe Nemechek, Phil Barkdoll (in his final NASCAR attempt), and Ed Berrier. [4] Geoffrey Bodine finished last due to an engine problem on lap 78 of 188 laps. [4] [5] Mark Martin defeated Dale Earnhardt by 0.150 seconds; ending the caution-free race. [4] [5] This was Martin's second consecutive victory. [4] [5] The aero package allowed for 26 changes in first-place during the race. [4] [5] Bobby Hillin had his best finish of the 1997 season by finishing 20th after qualifying in second place. [4] [5] This race would be the final start for Greg Sacks in the 20 and Robert Pressley in the 29. [4] [5]

John Andretti, driving Cale Yarborough's car, would finish in the top five. [4] [5] This race was actually rain-delayed from its original date, was attempted on Monday, then set back to the Saturday before Mother's Day.

Joe Nemechek ran the #40 car in this race because Robby Gordon had activities for the Indy 500 that were conflicting with the Winston 500.

It took more than two and a half hours for Martin to record his average speed of 188.354 miles per hour (303.126 km/h); one of the fastest average speeds recorded. [4] [5] Despite being twice the distance this race was only 32 minutes longer than the 2017 I Love New York 355 at The Glen. [4] [5] [6] John Andretti earned the pole position of the race with a speed of 193.627 miles per hour (311.612 km/h). [4] [5] This race brought to a close the existence of Harry Ranier's race team. [4] [5]

This race was a restrictor plate race per NASCAR's policy on racing at Talladega and its sister track at Daytona Beach, Florida during that time. Lake Speed's ACE Hardware sponsorship in this race was fabricated so that he would resemble the villain in Fox's made-for-TV movie Steel Chariots .

Mark Martin's race speed record still stands due to this race going caution free; it is unlikely the record will be broken anytime soon since NASCAR has added mandatory stage break cautions to all races (which has since been removed at road courses, but those tracks do not approach the average speeds of superspeedways).

After this race, Labonte would take the championship points away from Dale Jarrett. [5] The total prize purse for this race was $1,317,496 ($2,401,754 when considering inflation); Martin would earn $92,220 ($168,114 when considering inflation). [7]

Qualifying

Grid [4] No.DriverManufacturer
198John AndrettiFord
277Bobby Hillin Jr.Ford
33Dale EarnhardtChevrolet
42Rusty WallaceFord
531Mike SkinnerChevrolet
633Ken SchraderChevrolet
728Ernie IrvanFord
818Bobby LabontePontiac
988Dale JarrettFord
1094Bill ElliottFord
1124Jeff GordonChevrolet
1236Derrike CopePontiac
1320Greg SacksFord
149Lake SpeedFord
1575Rick MastFord
164Sterling MarlinChevrolet
1730Johnny Benson Jr.Pontiac
186Mark MartinFord
197Geoffrey BodineFord
2023Jimmy SpencerFord

Top 10 finishers

Section reference: [4]

  1. Mark Martin (No. 6)
  2. Dale Earnhardt (No. 3)
  3. Bobby Labonte (No. 18)
  4. John Andretti (No. 98)
  5. Jeff Gordon (No. 24)
  6. Terry Labonte (No. 5)
  7. Jimmy Spencer (No. 23)
  8. Jeff Burton (No. 99)
  9. Johnny Benson Jr. (No. 30)
  10. Ernie Irvan (No. 28)

Standings after the race

PosDriverPoints [4]
1 Increase2.svg Terry Labonte 1544
2 Increase2.svg Jeff Gordon 1505
3 Decrease2.svg Dale Jarrett 1492
4 1rightarrow.png Mark Martin 1394
5 1rightarrow.png Bobby Labonte 1329
6 Increase2.svg Dale Earnhardt 1287
7 Decrease2.svg Jeff Burton 1277
8 Increase2.svg Ricky Rudd 1172
9 Increase2.svg Michael Waltrip 1126
10 Decrease2.svg Bobby Hamilton 1121

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References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 1997 Winston 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ↑ Original date of the 1997 Winston 500 Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  3. ↑ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1997 Winston 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1997 Winston 500 racing information at Race Database
  6. ↑ Mark Martin's NASCAR Winston Cup Series record at Jayski
  7. ↑ Prize winnings at the 1997 Winston 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
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